ABadDay
by MissAlice1990
Summary: One of those days when everything seems to go wrong. Set in season 6, after Teal'c starts on tretinoin, but before the Abydos mission. This was supposed to be a one shot, but it took on a life of its own...
1. Insomnia

Sam laid in bed staring at the ceiling. She woke up at 3am and had been lying here for over an hour. Her clock now read 04:15. Today was going to be a bad day.

Sighing she pushed herself onto her feet and made her way into the bathroom. She took her time showering, doing her hair, doing her makeup, and getting dressed. Or so she thought. Over the years she had become so efficient at her morning routine, even dragging her feet it still only took twenty minutes. 04:35.

Twenty years and this day still affected her. You would think by now she would have gotten over it. She climbed into her Volvo and headed to the coffee shop.

04:45. Fifteen minutes until the place opened. Maybe she should just head to the mountain, it would save her sitting in her car with her own thoughts until the coffee shop opened. She sighed, closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose. A flash of her dream popped in her head and her eyes flew open. Does it count as a dream if it's also a memory? She'd have to ask Teal'c. He was really into dreams lately.

The minutes ticked by painfully as she stared at the clock on her dash.

04:46

04:47

04:48

04:49

04:50

She groaned. This wasn't helping. Why doesn't this place open sooner? She reached over and found her cell phone on the passenger seat. Flipped it open and dialed the number. Her finger hovered over the green button that would make the call. She sighed, closed the phone with a snap, and climbed out of her car.

04:55. She had managed to kill five minutes pacing back and forth behind her car, contemplating the phone call she almost made. 'If he wants to talk, he'll call.' She thought to herself.

She popped the trunk of her car and rummaged through it. There were few items back there; a spare tire, various tools, an emergency kit, and a large blanket. She looked up, there was a homeless man sleeping by the garbage cans. She took the blanket and laid it over him without waking him.

04:59. 'Finally.' She walked to the opening doors and stepped inside the too comfortable building.

05:10. She finally got her coffee cup, and turned to leave the shop. She was lost in her head, and barely noticed the man walking in front of her. He stopped abruptly to let someone else by and she slammed into him, hot coffee spilling everywhere. The scalding feeling pulled her from her daze as she realized what had happened.

"I am so sorry!" She said as the man shook coffee from his sleeve. He didn't get much on him, but it was covering the front of her body.

"watch where you're going next time!" The man glared at her before turning and stomping away.

She sighed. People were staring at her. She closed her eyes and bit her bottom lip before pulling herself into action to clean the mess she made and escape the shop, not bothering to order another drink.

05:40. She signed into the base and stepped onto the elevator. The sergeant she encountered gave her a once over, but didn't mention the coffee stains on her clothes. She swiped her keycard and pressed the button. The elevator began it's decent before jolting to a stop between two floors.

"Really?" She said aloud, picking up the phone to call for assistance. The line was dead. She clicked it a few times. Nothing happened. She hung it up and leaned her forehead against the wall.

"Hang in there, Sam."

She jumped up and her eyes snapped open. She could have sworn she just heard Daniel, but she was alone in the elevator. She shook her head. Suddenly the elevator kicked back to life and continued its descent. She leaned against the back wall and rubbed her face, biting back tears as the door opened on her level.


	2. Memories

06:00. She pulled on her blue BDU's as the klaxons began to blare. "UNSCHEDULED OFFWORLD ACTIVATION." Came over the loudspeaker. She made her way to the gate room.

"It's the Tok'ra." Walter said, as she stood by his side.

"Open the iris." She replied, being the first ranking officer to arrive that morning. She held her breath, hoping to see her father step through. Today, of all days, it would be nice to see him. She let out a frustrated sigh when she saw Anise step through. It wasn't that she had a problem with Anise, it was merely that the woman seemed to bring trouble with her every time she showed up. Trouble was something Sam was hoping to avoid today.

Jonas appeared at her side as she headed into the gate room. "What do you think they want?" He looked excited, as usual. Sam didn't reply, they'd find out soon enough.

"Anise, I'm sorry to say you've caught us at an unusual hour. General Hammond won't be here for another.." she looked at her watch. 06:15. "Two hours."

"Actually, Major Carter, it is you I have come to see." She smiled softly at Sam. "Your father sends his regards. He had hoped to join me today, but the council needed him elsewhere. He did ask me to give you this however." She reached out and handed Sam a small box. Sam took it but kept her attention on Anise.

"Well, what can I do for you?" Sam asked, smiling politely.

"I have been experimenting on the memory recall device. I believe I have successfully programmed the device to recall specific events by inputting specific parameters rather than having to wade through an individual's memories in search for the correct memory."

"I could see how that would be useful, but I fail to see what that has to do with me."

"There are memories of Jolinar's which may reside in your subconscious that would be very useful to the Tok'ra high council. It was my hope you would allow me to search for these memories. It would both provide me with a test subject, and help us to gain useful intelligence which was lost when Jolinar sacrificed herself to save you."

Sam closed her eyes again. Of course they would remind her of Jolinar's sacrifice. How could she refuse, if they brought that up? She sighed.

"I.. will consider it. Assuming General Hammond approves the experiment. In the meantime, I will get you some temporary quarters."

08:30. The last two hours had crawled. Even though Sam busied herself with gate diagnostics, the time just wouldn't seem to pass. Now she sat in the briefing room with General Hammond, Anise, and SG-1. Anise repeated what she told Sam in the briefing room.

The Colonel groaned. "Oh come on!" Everyone turned to look at him. "You can't be serious. It was one thing to save Jacob, but now you wanna crawl around in her head just to test out your little mind probe upgrade?"

"As I have already said Colonel O'Neill," Anise was being ever so patient. "Jolinar May have had important information which was lost to us when she sacrificed herself for Major Carter."

"You know, she never would have had to sacrifice herself if she hadn't jumped into Carter in the first place. Forcibly I might add." Sam was staring into her lap.

"The fact of the matter is," General Hammond began before the colonel could add anything else. "I am not going to order one of my personal to go through with this."

"General-" Anise began, but stopped when he held his hand up.

"If Major Carter wishes to assist you in your experiment, I will give her permission to do so. Otherwise, you request will be denied."

Now everyone was looking at Sam, with the exception of Colonel O'Neill who was staring at his hands while he licked at his fingers on the table. She looked at his face, then his hands, then her own hands. She would be lying if she said she hadn't thought about it. She didn't want to do it, but she knew this technology could be important. Although she doubted any information Jolinar had would be useful after so many years, it didn't really change anything.

She sighed. "I'll do it."

"Carter…" Colonel O'Neill said, meeting her eyes.

"It's fine, sir." She said, "I don't have too much on my plate today anyways."

"Thank you Major Carter." Anise said, "it will take some time to set up the equipment, I assume your Doctor Fraiser would like to observe?"

"I'm sure she will." General Hammond replied. "You can set up in the infirmary, and let us know when you are ready to proceed. Dismissed."


	3. ThingsForgotten

09:30. Sam was in her lab when the phone rang. "Carter." She said, answering the phone as she played with the box her father sent in the locked of her BDU's.

"Hey, Sam. How are you holding up today?" It was Mark.

She pulled the box out and examined it while she sat down on a stool by the phone. "You know. Bad day. Doesn't seem to get better. How are you holding up?"

"Same. Have you heard from dad?"

"Not personally, no. Someone under his command contacted me to send his apologies. He was trying to get away to see us but something came up."

"Yeah. Something always does."

She set the box down on the counter and sighed for what felt like the thousandth time that day. "Mark…"

"I know, part of the job. I just really hate the military sometimes Sam. No offense."

"None taken. I understand… how are the kids?" She looked up to see Colonel O'Neill standing in the doorway, hands in his pockets, staring at the box she put on the counter.

"They're good.. They were asking when you'll be by to visit again. Although I was thinking maybe we could come visit you? Colorado Springs must have some fun stuff to do."

"I would love to have you! When were you thinking of coming?"

"Oh.. maybe over the holidays? How do you feel about hosting us for Christmas?"

The colonel was still in the doorway, but he was watching her now, and he had leaned against the door frame.

"Christmas sounds nice. Uh, I'm really sorry Mark but I have to go… duty calls."

"Of course! Thanks for the chat Sam. And hey, it will get better."

She pushed through a growing lump in her throat and said "I really wish I believed that, Mark.

"Yeah, me too. Bye Sam."

"Bye." She hung up the phone and found herself fingering the box again.

"What's in the box?" The colonel asked, pushing off from the door frame and moving into the room.

"I uh.. haven't opened it yet." She said, blinking back the tears that were trying to form again. "I take it Anise is ready?"

"Yup. I'm here to escort you."

"You don't have to-"

"Carter, I am not leaving you alone in a room with that… woman."

"I won't be alone, sir. Janet will be there."

"Yes. And so will I."

She forced a small smile. "Thank you, sir."

"Carter, are you okay?"

"Sir?"

"You just… don't seem yourself today is all."

She stared at him, turning the box around in her hands. She found herself looking down at the box before she finally began to pry it open while she contemplated answering him. The box was wooden, and had intricate designs carved into it. It looked familiar to her, and the feeling of it on her fingers kept trying to stir a memory she couldn't quite grasp.

"I.. I'm just having a bad day, sir." She finally replied as her fingers worked the top of the box off. She let out a small gasp as she saw what it held. Suddenly it was all too overwhelming, and she felt herself sit back onto the stool as her eyes filled with tears.

"Carter?!" He closed the distance between them in two strides, and placed his hand on her arm. "What's wrong?"

She didn't respond to him. Instead she pulled the delicate bracelet from the box and held it in her hand. There was a small note folded in the bottom of the box. She pulled it out, and began unfolding it as the phone in her lab started to ring again.

Colonel O'Neill reached over her and grabbed the phone. "O'Neill… yeah, I know. Just give us a few minutes… Carter's busy with something. We'll be down as soon as we can." He slammed it back down.

Sams fingers traced over the note. She'd read it a hundred times in the past, but now there was an addition at the bottom. Now she understood why the box had seemed so familiar.

Sam,

I am so proud of the young woman you are growing into. I hope you never lose the wonder in your eyes, and the fire in your soul. I will always be here when you need me.

Love, mom.

Hey kiddo,

I thought it was time I gave this back to you. Your mom would be so proud of you.

Love, dad.

"Carter?"

Sam looked up at Colonel O'Neill. Realizing she was crying she began trying to wipe the tears away.

"Today is… uh." She took a shaky breath. "Today is the anniversary of my moms death, sir."

Understanding dawned in his eyes as he looked at the note, then back to her.

"She.. got this for me the day she died. My dad gave it to me after… I couldn't stand to keep it, because she wouldn't have been on that side of town if she hadn't gone to pick this up. I gave it back to my dad, but I never knew he kept it."

"...com'ere." He pulled her into a hug and let her sob into him. "Carter… this thing with Anise… you can say no."

"I know, sir…" she pulled away from him and began drying her eyes on her jacket. "I.. I feel like this is something I need to do though."

He nodded, and watched her as she replace the bracelet and note in the box, closed it, and slipped it back into the pocket of her BDU's.

"I'm.. I'm ready, sir."

"After you, Major."


	4. Notquiteasplanned

POV: Colonel O'Neill.

Fraiser hooked Carter up to a heartbeat monitor, ignoring the pointed look Anise gave her. They had set up the equipment in the isolation room, and Carter was currently sitting cross legged on a hospital bed, still in her BDU's.

"You will feel a sharp pain." Anise said as she put the memory recall device in carters temple. Jack rolled his eyes. He was standing at the end of the bed, not planning to move until Anise was done using Carter as a lab rat. Anise then attached a thin wire to the memory device, and Jack realized it was hooked to one of those projector things Hathor's people had used on them.

"Is that really necessary?" He asked, gesturing to the projector. Carter looked nervous. "It's kind of an invasion of privacy."

"Without the display I will be unable to collect the proper amount of data needed to confirm success of the experiment."

Fraiser was looking at the three of them, having not seen this device before. "What does it do?" She asked.

"It displays the memories as you recall them." Anise replied.

Fraiser looked pissed, but didn't say anything. Anise typed a few things into her console. "I am going to turn on the device now." She said, and Carter nodded.

That's when the shit hit the fan. Carter's pulse became erratic, something shocked her, and she fell over with a jolt. Jack rushed over and caught her, laying her on the bed while Fraiser yelled at Anise to turn it off. The display was showing one of Carter's memories.

"I cannot. If I turn it off before it has stopped searching for the proper memory, it could cause brain damage." Anise replied, looking worried.

"Excuse me?!" Jack was really pissed now. "And you didn't think to tell us about this risk before Carter agreed to this?"

"Mom?" They all stopped and looked at the display where the sound had come from.

"I'm here Sammy!" A woman's voice came from the display, and a young Carter began ascending the stairs in her family home.

"Mom, I don't feel so good." She passed out. The screen went blank as it searched for another memory.

"Can we at least turn the display of so she can have some privacy?" The doctor asked, looking defeated.

"If we do that we will not be able to tell which memory she is in, and therefore cannot see when it is safe to shut off the device. I do not understand why this is happening. Has she been in a heightened emotional state recently?"

"No." Fraiser said.

"Actually, yeah." Jack corrected. Frazier was looking at him, shocked. He sighed and rubbed his hands on his face. "She told me today was the anniversary of her mom's death." She must have heard him because the next memory to pop up was them in her lab.

It searched for a while longer before it came to the memory of her mom's death.

"This could take awhile. There is no need for the two of you to remain." Anise said as it began searching again.

"I am her Doctor! I will not be leaving my patient." Fraiser scolded. Jack just crossed his arms and stood there with a look that said 'make me.'


	5. Fighting

General Hammond was pissed. Teal'c had been watching from the observation room, and left to let the general know what had happened once he was sure Major Carter had not died.

So Hammond came in, red faced and dangerous. He started scolding at Anise for leaving out so many risks. The next memory to pop up stopped them all though. It was a younger Hammond standing in Carter's kitchen scolding her dad. Young Carter sitting in the stairwell listening from out of sight.

"She needs to be with her FATHER right now." He took a deep breath, and when he spoke again his voice was a more level. "Jacob, you know I love Sam like she was my own daughter. But she just lost her mother. Don't you push her away like you did with Mark. she needs you."

"Can you just… take her for an overnight? I'm not in a good place for her right now."

"Of course Jacob. Just try not to forget she's hurting too."

The machine began searching for more memories and Everyone stood in an awkward silence.

Jack cleared his throat. "The uh.. memories seem to be triggered by our voices, sir."

"I can see that, son." Hammond looked sad. "I never knew she heard that conversation."

"The reason for this issue is due to the fact she is in a heightened emotional state." Anise spoke up. "If anyone had told me this, I would have waited to start the trial."

"You know, if you had told us about the risks maybe she would have said something. But no, it's just like with those damn arm bands." Jack was irritated.

As though Carter was trying to emphasize the point, the display showed her memory of running into the shield on Apophis' ship and passing out.

"Doctor, what kind of state is she in?" Hammond asked Fraiser.

"Well, her heart rate returned to normal not long after she went out. Other than that, she appears to be in a REM state."

"So she's sleeping?" Hammond asked.

"Yes sir, more specifically dreaming."

"Why can't we just wake her up?"

"I'm not sure sir. I think it might have something to do with her initial reaction to the device, though from what Anise and Colonel O'Neill have told me, this device isn't meant to make the user sleep. It is only meant to help recall."

"I believe once the memory I have specified in the search is found, the machine will cease its probe of her mind and she will awaken."

"And of the memory doesn't exist?" Hammond asked.

"For the initial test I had chosen a memory which I knew for a fact existed within Jolinar."

"Now.. why don't you just… tell her about the memory?" Jack asked. "I mean, she's obviously listening to us."

"Because then the data for our initial test would be inaccurate."

"Excuse me?" Hammond turning red again.

"If I were to feed the memory to her, then the machine would not be responsible for finding it and the test would be inconclusive."

"You're trying to tell me you could have brought her out of this from the start and you chose not to?"

"General, I assure you-"

"I don't really care what you have to say. You bring Major Carter out of this now."

Anise nodded in surprise, and moved over to Carters side. She began describing a conversation between her and Jolinar before she left on her final mission. The memory appeared on the display, played through, and the machine turned itself off.

They waited for a moment before Anise said "it may take a few minutes for her to regain consciousness."

A moment later Carter's hand moved to her head and her eyes fluttered open as she groaned.


	6. Awake

POV: Sam Carter.

She had a splitting headache. Colonel O'Neill was at her side in seconds.

"Mornin' sleeping beauty. How're you feeling?" He asked, placing his hand on her shoulder.

"Like someone to a crowbar to my head. I think I'm having a bad day, sir." She replied as she reached for him to help her sit up.

"I'm am very sorry. If I had known you were in a heightened emotional state, I would have suggested we wait. Perhaps we can try again when you are feeling more yourself."

"Oho That will not be happening." Colonel O'Neill said, as Janet moved over to examine Sam.

"Major Carter, rest assured-"

"Unfortunately Anise, I am inclined to agree with Colonel O'Neill on this one." General Hammond interrupted her. "I do not want to see that happen again." And when that he turned and left the room.

Sam reached up and pulled the recall device from her temple, then handed it to Anise with an apologetic wince. Then she leaned into the hand Colonel O'Neill still had on her shoulder for support while Janet finished her once over of Sam.

"Well Sam, you seem to be doing fine physically. Although I'm concerned about the possibility of cognitive issues resulting from this."

"Thank you Janet. My mind feels clear at the moment, just a bit of a pounding headache."

"Alright Sam. Why don't you rest here for a few minutes, and I'll get you some painkillers."

Sam looked up to see Teal'c and Jonas watching from the observation room. Jonas smiled and waved excitedly before following Teal'c into the isolation room to see her.

"Hey Teal'c, If you dream a memory, does it count as one or both?" She asked him, thinking of her questions from this morning. She realized she must have sounded crazy since they were all staring at her with worried looks on their faces. She shrugged. "I had a dream last night that was of a memory. I thought I'd ask Teal'c since he's been reading a lot about dreams lately."

Colonel O'Neill smirked, and patted her on the leg with his free hand. "You're gonna be just fine, Major."


	7. NotSoBad

**Thank you all so much for all of the feedback! I really didn't expect this story to take so long. I was having a bad day today and I just got a little inspired.. it was only supposed to be short and sweet, but sometimes the characters just do their own thing.**

**Here is the final chapter! Again, thank you, and enjoy!**

16:45. Sam was sitting in her lab, fingering the bracelet her father sent with Anise. The whole passing out and reliving bad memories incident had taken up most of the day. She knew she should be heading to the locker room to change and head home, but she couldn't bring herself to leave. So she sat here looking at the bracelet.

She remembered when her dad had given it to her. It was the night after her mother's funeral. He handed her the box and simply said "your mom went to pick this up that day… I think she would have wanted me to give it to you."

She had been so ashamed of that bracelet she never even looked at it. At the time, all she could think of was how the bracelet was one of the reasons her mom was dead. If she hadn't gone to pick it up, she wouldn't have ever gotten into that cab. But now, sitting at her workbench, Sam began to examine the bracelet, surprised at the details. Yellow gold with sapphires and diamonds, and little stars etched into the sides. On the inside there was an engraving which read "for my little genius, may you make it to the stars."

"This must have cost a fortune." Sam mumbled to herself as she stared at the piece.

"She had it designed and made for you." A voice came from the doorway.

"Dad!" She jumped to her feet. "What are you doing here? I thought you had a mission."

"I do, but when George called about what happened, I figured I should come escort Anise home myself so I could make sure you were okay."

"I'm fine dad, really." She gave him a small smile.

"It's a rough day, isn't it kiddo?"

"Yeah. Today is always a rough day. But this.." she held up the bracelet, "Actually makes me feel a lot better. Thank you dad."

He pulled her into a hug. "I love you kiddo. I'll be back soon, and maybe we can go see Mark together."

"I'd like that."

They said their goodbyes before her dad left to get Anise and head back to the Tok'ra base. Sam looked at the clock.

17:00. She sighed, then looked back at the bracelet in her hand and smiled.

"Carter." She looked up to see Colonel O'Neill in the doorway yet again.

"Colonel, what can I do for you?"

"Well, for starters you can go change. And then I was thinking… maybe team night? Your place?"

"I'd like that." Sam said, smiling at him. He knew she needed a distraction to get her through the rest of her bad day. "You know what sir?" He raised his eyebrows. "I don't think I'm having a bad day anymore." With that he grinned.

When she stepped past him, he reached over and patted her on the shoulder. "Oh, I wouldn't speak so soon Carter," he teased. "You don't even know what game Teal'c picked out yet!"

FIN


End file.
